On Sunday, March 20, 2016, Nollywood actress,
Mercy Aigbe Gentry, reacted to a This Day Style
cover, which omitted her name as one of Nollywood
best dressed.
In confusion, her response led to
people addressing the existing gap between Yoruba
actors and English speaking movie industry. In a
recent interview with Punch, the actress addressed
the issue.
Mercy Aigbe spoke on the discrimination in
Nollywood, Yoruba actors seen as illiterates, and
Yoruba movie genres having better actors.
Read excerpts from interview below;
On reason behind discrimination against Yoruba
movie practitioners;
I really don’t know why and it has been on for a
very long time. However, we have started to get
better recognition unlike what obtained in the
industry four years ago. The gap is already being
bridged and I think it is only a matter of time. I think
we Yoruba actors also need to let people know that
we are also a part of Nollywood and demand to be
respected like our English counterparts.
On Yoruba movie genre having better actors:
Our counterparts in the English genre have always
had fantastic stories and actors. I think Nollywood
should be one and devoid of any form of disparity or
segregation. The term Nollywood in my opinion
means movies made in Nigeria irrespective of the
medium. I am also featuring in a Hausa movie which
will be released soon.
On why Yoruba actors are tagged illiterates: -
This is one area where I have a problem with
people’s perception of Yoruba actors. Many people
think we are uneducated and can’t speak good
English. I think people are not informed, so
whenever someone tells me they are not aware I
speak proper English, I simply laugh it off.
No comments:
Post a Comment